The DJ Who “Brought Down” the USSR

The Life and Legacy of Seva Novgorodsev.

When a Russian émigré jazz musician makes his DJ debut on the BBC’s airwaves in 1977 with Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” no one expects that he, Seva Novgorodsev, would become more popular than just a presenter of forbidden Western music—he would liberate the people of the USSR.

. Of the many Cold War radio DJs who broadcast to the USSR, Seva Novgorodsev must be near the top of the list. A masterful BBC presenter, Seva was considered a sage of rock ‘n’ roll. His programs introduced forbidden western popular music and culture into the USSR, rendering him an “enemy voice” and ideological saboteur to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Despite KGB threats and constant media pillorying, Seva remained on the air for 38 years, acquiring millions of listeners all across the breadth of the USSR and beyond. He became a cult phenomenon, dismantling the Soviet way of life in the hearts and minds of youth. This is the story of Russia’s first and best-known DJ.